Ragdoll Maker

Chapter Nine: Dolls

Toby was seated at his desk, carefully concentrating as he threaded a needle through a black button. Then, slowly, he proceeded to sew that button onto the dark blue face of an almost complete ragdoll. On either side of him sat two other dolls: one resembling TT, and the other resembling Thorn Note. As soon as he finished with Jack's doll, he planned to give all three of them to their respective people.

He was glad to already have made several friends. He wanted to get to know even more of them, but at the same time, he wanted to have a deeper connection with the friends he had already made. Having friends that do more than silently sit on your shelf was a totally new concept for him. It was a refreshing experience. Perhaps they could all have a night to get to know each other... though he wasn't sure how the others may react to a suggestion like that.

Shrugging to himself, he cradled all three dolls in his arms and walked out of his room. He found TT in the living room with Masky and Hoodie. "Ticci!" he called, extending the doll with a grin. TT gasped and ran over. "Th-that's so c-cool! Is th-that f-for me?" he asked, looking up with wide eyes. Toby nodded, so TT took the doll in his hands. "Th-thanks! I-I'll k-keep it in m-m-my room!" he announced.

Masky looked over. "Didn't you make a doll like that for Sally?" he questioned.

"Oh, uh, yeah! I did," Toby confirmed. "Just, uh, something I'm making for the friends I'm making! I'd like to get to know you all better, too!"

"That's pretty cool looking," Hoodie praised, coming forward to observe the craftsmanship of TT's doll. "Where'd you learn how to make dolls like that?"

"From my dad," Toby answered briskly, not wanting to get into the details of it. Perhaps Hoodie understood, or maybe he just wasn't curious enough to want to know more, but he didn't push the matter any further.

"So do you guys know where Jack and Thorn Note are?" Toby asked, gesturing to the two other dolls. "Uhh... Jack... no idea," Masky shrugged. "Thorn Note's around somewhere, though. She might be in her room, or she might be in the kitchen..."

"Where's her room?" Toby asked. "W-Weren't you p-paying attention t-t-to my t-tour?" TT asked in an mock exasperated tone. "I'll l-lead you th-there, n-no worries."

Toby nodded gratefully, waving his goodbyes to Masky and Hoodies. He couldn't remember what their names were, or if they had even told him... but that didn't matter for now.

The two walked up the stairs, TT stopping in front of the door across from Sally's room. Toby made a mental note of the path so that he could remember how to get to her room in the future, if he ever needed to. TT knocked on the door, and after a moment, Thorn Note opened the door.

The girl looked between the two young men in front of her. "'Sup," she greeted, leaning against her doorway in a casual manner.

"Since we're friends now, I decided to make a doll for you!" Toby explained, holding out her doll. TT held up his as well, looking extremely pleased. Thorn Note stood up straight, taking the doll from Toby. "Aw, that's so sweet!" she praised. "Thanks!"

"It's no problem!" Toby preened with the compliment. "Oh, have you seen Jack?"

"Eyeless or Laughing?" Thorn asked. Toby frowned, trying to think. He couldn't remember which name it was... heck, he wasn't even aware that there was more than one Jack! "Eyeless..?" he clarified in an unsure tone, holding out the doll.

Thorn nodded, and Toby sighed in relief as he got it right.

"He went out a little while ago. Probably for a snack..." she giggled to herself as though it were something funny, though Toby didn't understand the joke. "Um... alright. When he gets back, could you let him know I'm looking for him?" Toby asked. Thorn shrugged. "Don't see why not. I'll tell him if I see him."

With a final "thank you" and a wave goodbye, Toby and TT walked away. "So, erm, what now?" Toby asked. "I d-dunno. I usually spend t-t-time with th-the others when I'm b-bored. Sometimes I g-go for walks. M-Maybe we c-could play video games with B-Ben?"

"I... don't think I remember Ben..." Toby replied sheepishly. "Short d-dude? B-Bloody eyes?" TT asked. "Oh! That guy..." Toby trailed off, remembering Ben's scary appearance. "I dunno... he seems... intense..."

TT laughed at that. "N-Nah, man, th-that's just his f-face. He m-might t-t-take some t-time t-to warm up t-to you, but he's p-pretty cool once y-you get past th-that!" he assured.

Finally, after some time, TT finally managed to convince Toby to go play video games with Ben. TT knocked on the door, and the two waited outside of the room. There were some muffled voices before Ben finally opened the door, looking between the two of them with a bored expression. Toby gave an uneasy and forced smile, trying to ignore Ben's black eyes. "Hey B-Ben! You busy? W-We wanted t-t-to play some v-video games!" TT waved.

"...Sure, why not," Ben shrugged, stepping aside to let the duo into his room. Toby looked around at the barely decorated room. There was a small yet messy bed pushed against a far corner, and a TV with gaming sets against the back wall. That was about all there was to the room, which Toby found a bit strange but chose not to comment on.

TT and Toby sat in front of the TV while Ben worked on setting up a game. Once he was finished, he sat next to TT and handed the two their controllers. "I, uh... haven't really played video games in a long time..." Toby warned. Ben stared at him with an incredulous look before shaking his head. "Unbelievable..." he muttered. "We'll teach you," he said more loudly so that his companions could here. Toby nodded awkwardly, looking at the screen as the game began.

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[A/N] A bit of a filler, sorry. I have some ideas for this, I just need to find a good way to execute them. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!

Vote! Comment! Please?

~CakeEater4